Rousseau’s Philosophy in the Enlightenment
Sociocultural and Philosophical Context of Rousseau’s Thought
The Enlightenment and Rousseau
Rousseau’s work emerged during the 18th-century Enlightenment, a period of optimism and belief in reason, self-criticism, and the progress of humankind through knowledge and education. This era saw the rise of the bourgeoisie, who challenged the privileges of the nobility and clergy. The Enlightenment provided the intellectual framework for this challenge.
The Encyclopedia of Diderot and D’Alembert, a compendium of human knowledge based on reason, epitomized the Enlightenment’s focus on rationality. However, Rousseau, while collaborating with encyclopedists, critiqued certain Enlightenment ideals, such as the prevailing optimism and the concept of cultural progress. He questioned the role of rationality and science in human advancement, foreshadowing Romantic ideals.
Philosophical Context: The Social Contract
Rousseau engaged with the contractarian theory, the idea of a social contract as the basis of the state, a concept previously explored by Hobbes and Locke. However, Rousseau diverged from Hobbes on the concept of the “state of nature.” Hobbes viewed the “state of nature” as a war of all against all, requiring a totalitarian state to maintain order. Rousseau, conversely, believed that humans in the “state of nature” were free and happy, their desires limited to their physical needs.
Rousseau’s Critique of Culture and Knowledge
Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts
In his Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts (1750), Rousseau argued that civilization had not benefited humanity, creating artificial needs that led to enslavement. He advocated for a return to a natural life, challenging a society he perceived as filled with hypocrisy and convention. He attributed the origin of the sciences and arts to human vices like greed, avarice, and idle curiosity.
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
In his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Among Men (1754), Rousseau explored the hypothetical “state of nature” prior to society, where humans were free and equal. He developed the concept of the “noble savage,” a happy individual whose needs were natural and uncorrupted by civilization. He argued that the transition to civil society led to inequality, primarily due to private property, which gave rise to slavery, negative emotions, and oppression.
Rousseau’s Main Lines of Thought
Critique of Progress and Civilization
Rousseau criticized the faith in progress, questioning whether science and technology truly liberated humans from oppression and unhappiness. He believed they introduced false ideas and values, corrupting individuals and eroding moral virtues.
The Social Contract and the General Will
In The Social Contract (1762), Rousseau envisioned a state that guaranteed freedom and prevented exploitation. He proposed a new social contract based on the “general will,” the collective desire for the common good. He advocated for democratic sovereignty, where individuals, as part of the collective “people,” are subject to the law of the “general will.” This social contract grants individuals civil liberty, which, being obedience to self-imposed laws, is superior to natural liberty.
In Rousseau’s republic, the people are sovereign, holding the power. Each citizen is both sovereign, as a participant in lawmaking, and subject, as one who obeys the law.